Worried about bring up aspergers to psychologist

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I was refered by my doctor but she wasnt sure so never mentioned AS in the refferal apparently, i saw the psychologist last week and mentioned why i got the referall (due to thinking i may be on the spectrum) but i never really pushed it.

Im wondering how to bring it up properly, or if I should at all? im seeing her again tomorow.

I dont want it to look like im trying to push the psychologist in a specific direction but i still dont want her to not cover it i guess.

She asked me to find out more about my childhood. I dont remember much but wrote down a few things i remember and what my mum has said, as well as writing down whole lot of other more recent problems or quirks i can remember that have lead me to belive i may be on the spectrum. I dont know what is significant and what isnt so i just wrote it all down anyway.
Should i show her the list?

I would show her the list.
She is a professional being employed to at least try and assess / help you.
On this basis, showing her the list helps here to do this, one way or another.
It may get you a more accurate diagnosis than if you don't show it?

Thanks straightfairy, I supose even if some of it is gibberish it should help. At least better than i can explain it verbaly. I wish someone would invent a mind reader

Ive got 2 more initial appointments, then we will see. I'm a little scared of telling her some things (ive hit my head a lot, once ended in a hospital checkup becuase i get angry and frustrated that i cant get the thoughts in my head right when im trying to tell get my point across i just want my brain to stop!, usually end up because someone is arguing with dont know if thats just me or if thats common at all with ASD) but i supose the more honest i am the better.

Any tips?

Just give her the list, and take it from there. It's a starting point for discussion.

I wrote copious amounts to pass to my doctors because expressing it as speech is something I could not do. But when the questions were based directly on what was written - so I did not have verbally initiate - it was a little easier to talk about myself (but still very very challenging, and this was obvious the amount of stimming I did when I was in with the doctors - and I was trying to limit it - and the number of times I completely missed / failed to answer the question being asked)

The doctors repeatedly commented how helpful it was to have my written comments - because they got a better idea of how my brain worked from these than when I was obviously struggling in our meetings.

Overall the only tip I can give is to just be yourself. If you can't speak, don't speak - write instead.

Yeah, I agree. That is what she is there for, and that was technically what you were referred for. I would not be nervous--this IS her job, and you are likely not the first person to ask her about it. When I made my appointment for the ADI-R and ADOS, I was very straightforward: "do you offer a test to diagnose autism?" I figured why waste my money floating around the subject. I was there for one thing, and one thing only. She could give me the test, and IF that test came back negative, then we could talk about other possibilities.

thanks for the advice. My appointment was cancelled, so i have to wait two weeks for another one Still it gives me extra time to sort out the mush in my head, as if a year wasn't enough i still find it hard to explain in words how i think.

I brought the book 'all cats have asperger's syndrome' to my therapy session and he had me go through the book page by page, telling whether and how what it said applied to me. (He liked that book so much he kept it for a couple of months to use with other patients.)

Some therapists are very slow in getting to the point and are willing to take months or years. They may feel their 'paying customers' (patients or the patients' parents) don't really want an official diagnosis.

Others, on the other hand, get to the point more rapidly (especially if you are on Medicaid and they are losing tons of money on each session).

I was also in the situation of wanting to bring up Aspergers to my shrink. I did not want her to think I was being a hypochondriac and diagnosing myself with various things however.

You did the correct thing to write down your memories of childhood. I have done the same thing, using memories, current events, and things I have learned about aspergers that I felt applied to me and my experiences. She had me type it up because my hand writing is hard to read.

What I said to her was basically "I dont want to sound crazy, but what do you know about aspergers? I think it might apply to me based on my research of others experiences with it that sound like mine."

She doesnt offer a test, but knew a doctor next door to her office who specializes in children with autism, and the dr was willing to see me also although I am not a child.

So this has been very helpful to me. My shrink lady always says to be honest and tell her anything no matter what it is, and this has not hurt me in any way yet when I have told her what was on my mind no matter how strange it seemed to me to say things outloud.

I wish you the best of luck and hope you get some answers.